District wants to hear from patrons on master plan

The Neosho R-5 School District is moving forward on plans for a classroom addition at the Neosho High School, so long as the community doesn’t tell them otherwise.

Whitney Saporito

GOODMAN – The Neosho R-5 School District is moving forward on plans for a classroom addition at the Neosho High School, so long as the community doesn’t tell them otherwise.

Tim Crawley, the district’s director of operations, said the associates with Sapp, Design and Associates, who were recently hired by the district to create the school district’s long-range plan, have advised that the district continue on with plans for an 11-room addition at the Neosho High School.

Crawley shared the classroom addition update with board members at their monthly board meeting held Monday evening at Goodman Elementary School.

He said the district is holding a community forum, scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27 at the Neosho High School cafeteria, where they will seek community input regarding what the public would like to see in the district’s future.

The district is also seeking staff input and will be holding additional forums for district employees as well.

“Michael Sapp (of Sapp, Design and Associates) kind of felt like that was something that, after we have some of our forum meetings, we might decide that there’s a direction change,” Crawley told board members. “But, at this point, we definitely need to move forward with this until we know otherwise.”

The plans, currently being drawn up by KRJ architects, include 10 classrooms, a small resource room, a restroom and an east corridor, to go in on the southeast side of the high school.

Crawley said the district plans to allow KRJ architects to complete those plans to the point that they are ready to be put out for bid.

The addition would go in near senior hallway and each classroom would measure approximately 850 square-feet. Board members voted in February to approve the transfer of $3.2 million to finance the classroom addition, as well as the ongoing construction of a softball field at Carver Elementary, the now completed renovation of the high school library and the construction of three FEMA shelters.

In the October school board meeting, Crawley said the estimated cost of the addition is around $1.6 million. He told board members on Monday that the board should have a better understanding of where the addition fits into the long-range plan by their next board meeting, Dec. 17.

“By that time, we’ll have all of our packaged material ready to go out to bid by the 18th,” Crawley said.

He said if the district continues on the current path, a pre-bid meeting would be held the first of January, a bid opening would take place Jan. 17, and a bid for construction services could be awarded at the Jan. 21 board meeting.

Board members also approved a request from district administration to replace two district vehicles. Crawley told board members that the purchase could stay under $25,000, due to state bid prices. He said the district has looked at purchasing a mini-van and a sedan, though they have not committed yet to any certain vehicles. The goal, Crawley said, is to get vehicles with good gas mileage, to decrease the district’s transportation costs.

Currently, district employees traveling for work are reimbursed mileage costs, which totaled last year to more than $58,000.

Crawley said he would bring a policy before the board in their December meeting, which would require that employees, upon the availability of the district vehicles, drive those as opposed to receiving district reimbursement.

“We think it’ll actually pay for itself in the first year and everything after that is just savings for the district,” Crawley said.

In other business, board members:

• Voted to set the high school graduation date for 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 10 at Bob Anderson Stadium. In the event that school is missed due to inclement weather for five or more days prior to Feb. 15, the graduation would be held May 17.

• Voted to send out a request for proposals for third party administration and network services.

• Voted to accept school board election filing dates, as presented by the county clerk's office. Filing opens at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11 and ends at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15, with the election set for Tuesday, April 2.Filing may be done at the Neosho Administrative Center, office of the superintendent, from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Filing will not be open when the office is closed for holidays, Dec. 20 through Jan. 2, or if closed due to inclement weather.